The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
Oddfellow show to benefit Ugandan orphans
Event features ‘art in the age of Instagram’
MIDDLETOWN — Oddfellows Playhouse in Middletown will be supporting Hiccup Circus Uganda with “One Night Only: Artstagram and StudentDirected Circus” on Saturday, May 19, at 7 p.m.
Artstagram is a new, 45-minute circus-theater piece written and directed by Middletown-based circus artist Allison McDermott. It is a show about “art in the age of Instagram,” according to McDermott, in which the audience gets to watch her and performing partner Rob Grimm “navigate the algorithms of Instagram on their quest to reach 100,000 followers.”
The show features “juggling, balancing, laughter and selfies. Lots of selfies,” she said.
Both are teaching artists at the Children’s Circus of Middletown; Allison is the lead trainer for Circophony Youth Circus.
Warming up for Artstagram will be two short circus acts created as part of the “Student-Directed Circus” program offered by Circophony this Spring. Disappearing Act, directed by 19 year-old Carolyn Reid, explores the lost and found of circus. Stereotypical Society, directed by 20 year-old Jasmine Peck, investigates how opposing groups in society learn what it is like to live with one another and not only discover the other's selfworth, but one’s own as well.
Circophony is a yearround teen circus training and performance program run in collaboration by Oddfellows Playhouse and local Theater Company ARTFARM. Carolyn and Jasmine have been members of the company for over eight years, and have created these thoughtful and provocative new works using each other and fellow Circophony members.
Tickets are $8 for adults and $5 for kids, available in advance at www.oddfellows.org or at the door. All proceeds from the event will go directly to Hiccup Circus in Uganda. Hiccup Circus and Circophony recently initiated a “Sister Circus” relationship through the International Network of Social Circuses. Hiccup Circus Uganda is a Child Protection Project that serves young people in refugee camps, orphans and young people living in the slums of Kampala. Additional donations beyond the ticket price are welcomed to support equipment and transportation needs of Hiccup Circus. For more information, go to www.hiccupcircusuganda.org.